bombard
Americanverb (used with object)
noun
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the earliest kind of cannon, originally throwing stone balls.
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Nautical. bomb ketch.
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an English leather tankard of the 18th century and earlier, similar to but larger than a blackjack.
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Obsolete. a leather jug.
verb
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to attack with concentrated artillery fire or bombs
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to attack with vigour and persistence
the boxer bombarded his opponent with blows to the body
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to attack verbally, esp with questions
the journalists bombarded her with questions
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physics to direct high-energy particles or photons against (atoms, nuclei, etc) esp to produce ions or nuclear transformations
noun
Other Word Forms
Derived Forms
Inflected Forms
Participles
Conjugated Forms
Present
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bombardsimple
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bombardssimple
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have bombardedperfect
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has bombardedperfect
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am bombardingprogressive
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are bombardingprogressive
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is bombardingprogressive
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have been bombardingperfect progressive
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has been bombardingperfect progressive
Past
-
bombardedsimple
-
had bombardedperfect
-
was bombardingprogressive
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were bombardingprogressive
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had been bombardingperfect progressive
Future
Etymology
Origin of bombard
First recorded in 1400–50; late Middle English (noun), Medieval Latin bombarda “stone-throwing engine” ( Latin bomb(us) “booming noise” + -arda noun suffix); see bomb, -ard
Explanation
To bombard is to attack, whether physically (with something like missiles) or metaphorically (with something like questions). See the word bomb in bombard? That's a clue to its meaning. When a place is bombarded, an enemy could literally be dropping bombs on it. In the days of stoning, people were bombarded with rocks. A politician getting pestered with questions is also being bombarded. You could say a teacher who assigns a lot of homework is bombarding the class with assignments. Bombarding involves a series of attacks; one bomb or one question can't be described as a bombardment.
Vocabulary lists containing bombard
Save Me a Seat
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Metamorphosis
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Vocabulary from the Second Presidential Debate: October 9, 2016
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
See Examples For:
"These rare events, triggered by large, well-positioned collisions in the main asteroid belt, bombard all inner solar system worlds," Bottke said.
From Science Daily ● Jul. 18, 2026
‘I’ve plenty of time on my hands’: Advisers bombard me with offers of free steak dinners.
From MarketWatch ● Jul. 8, 2026
Deming goes old school to distort Reilly’s focus and bombard him with harsh spotlights.
From Los Angeles Times ● Jun. 16, 2026
The Apple feature, introduced last year with iOS 26, is meant to block the spam calls that continue to bombard Americans’ devices.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 29, 2026
Mari and Hannah’s argument would morph into something about science, or the details from a television show, or anything really, but when he returned, they would bombard him with questions.
From "Boy 2.0" by Tracey Baptiste
Unlike Delta, which bombards premium travelers with what-to-expect emails ahead of their flight, JetBlue was notably silent about its Mint perks after I booked in mid-February.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Mar. 18, 2026
Without this invisible barrier, Earth would be exposed to the same constant stream of charged particles that bombards other planets in our solar system, such as Mars, making life there far more difficult.
From Science Daily ● Oct. 12, 2025
Schools pile on homework, extracurricular activities consume evenings, and social media bombards us with comparisons to seemingly perfect families.
From Salon ● Sep. 17, 2024
By the thirteenth century, European and Ottoman armies were using early cannons called bombards to destroy the walls of cities and fortresses.
From Textbooks ● Apr. 19, 2023
Imam Malik looks helpless as our class bombards him with questions.
From "Amina's Voice" by Hena Khan
Newly appointed Michelle Welsh, Labour MP for Sherwood Forest, has written to the owner of Facebook and Instagram, urging them to better protect users from being bombarded with unwanted ads.
From BBC ● Jun. 3, 2026
Today, consumers are bombarded with a constant stream of headlines, social media posts and algorithmically curated content designed to maximize engagement.
From Barron's ● May 27, 2026
“It’s the industry’s fault for being too vocal, for beating the drum on Roth conversions. Consumers are just bombarded with conversion, conversion, conversion,” Panko said.
From MarketWatch ● May 15, 2026
Voters will probably be bombarded with political ads and arguments from opposing sides as the battle intensifies.
From Los Angeles Times ● Apr. 30, 2026
The experimenter folded himself into that cramped space and fixed his eye on a scintillation screen capturing flashes from a bombarded lithium target.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
As diplomats wrangle for a breakthrough in what has been Europe's deadliest conflict since World War II, Russia has continued to press forward with its assault, bombarding Ukraine daily.
From Barron's ● Jan. 9, 2026
That can be done as simply as bombarding a drone or rocket with signals that drown out the connection to their operator or satellite guidance.
From The Wall Street Journal ● Jan. 7, 2026
Julie Kilmartin, who took Nancy into her home, said there had been a "lot of excitement" and people were "bombarding her all weekend" after learning of the find.
From BBC ● Sep. 15, 2025
With TikTok and Instagram reels constantly bombarding you with ads and influencer promotions, it’s hard not to feel like you’re missing out if you’re not buying the latest products and keeping up with the Joneses.
From Salon ● Feb. 17, 2025
Rutherford experimented by bombarding gold foils with alpha particles emanating from a glass vial of purified radium.
From "Big Science" by Michael Hiltzik
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
